A Regular Nightingale
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day four hundred and forty-one: Sick and bedridden, Shelby knows just who she'll need to call on for help.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 20th cycle. Now cycle 21! (I realized I didn't fix this line throughout the whole of cycle 20! *smacks forehead*)_

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**"A Regular Nightingale"  
Shelby & Beth, Emmett & Joanie Tepley  
Sequel to many, last of which is "Star-Crossed Lovers & Other Strangers" **

It had started with exhaustion and a scratchy throat, but she'd just gone to bed early and put it behind her. But then after one very bad night's sleep and an even worse morning, she had to go ahead and accept it… She was sick… more than that, she was sick and had to care for Beth, who was now crying her little lungs beyond normal human capacity. She couldn't will herself to get up and go to her and, even if she could, she didn't want to make her sick, too. She'd have to call someone, and they'd have to be there as soon as… possible… She sighed, which then turned into a cough… Of course, she knew someone who lived just next door and was big on 'being neighbourly.'

She stretched out her arm and felt around for the phone until she got it. She wasn't sure what time it was, but the daylight was as good of an okay as she'd get. She dialled and, when he answered, she laid it all out for him, and in a heartbeat he declared he was on his way… She expected no less and, as was Tepley custom, got much more.

Five minutes after the call, she heard the door – she'd told Emmett about the hide-a-key – and then footsteps up the stairs. She had the briefest of thoughts for how she must have looked, but at this point what was she supposed to do about it?

When he came in, she worked to sit up, at least. "Morning," she tried to joke, soon assaulted by more coughing. He walked up and held out the tissues. "Thanks," she grabbed one.

"You just take it easy, okay? I'm here, for whatever you need."

"Beth…" she started to ask, but then…

"It's okay, I got her," Joanie's voice came through the baby monitor. "I'm…" she paused for breath. "… changing her diaper. Then I can feed her." There was a bark. "Yes, Panda, I'll feed you, too. Hey, Shelby, want me to take her for a walk? The dog, not Beth. Although I can take her with us!"

"One thing at a time, Joanie," Emmett spoke at the monitor.

"Right, okay!" Joanie replied.

"She insisted on helping," he turned back to Shelby. "And she made the point that it'll be easier not to get Beth sick that way." She nodded, thankful. "Okay, do you feel hungry at all?" She groaned. "You will have to eat at some point," he reminded her, and she groaned again. "Let's start with juice."

"There's no stopping you, is there?" she coughed.

"Not really. I'll be right back," he headed out. She breathed, lied back. She could hear Joanie on the monitor, humming along to Beth as she was changing her… Beth didn't seem too concerned by this swap, but then this wasn't the first of her diapers which was changed by Joanie.

The girls had moved on downstairs for Beth's bottle when Emmett returned, with both orange juice and chicken noodle soup. "Just in case you're up for something a bit more challenging after 'juice,'" he told her as he handed her the glass.

"Don't you have to work at some point?" she pointed out.

"It's Saturday," he had to remind her. She just stared, slightly embarrassed.

"Right… Look, I don't want to take up your whole weekend with this…" she shook her head, but he just sat by her bed.

"I'm happy to do it. With all the help you've given, with Joanie… It's the least I can do, really," he nodded.

"Well, when you say it like that," she conceded, and he smiled. "I think I'll brave the soup," she indicated when her glass of juice was empty. He took it from her and set up the tray for her to have the soup. "Are the girls alright down there?" she asked.

"They're fine," he promised. "Joanie's feeding Beth as we speak."

"Just thinking about… being away from her for a couple days, I…"

"I'll bet," he nodded. "You probably haven't been away from each other all that much, even before she was born…" Shelby paused when he said this… Right, he didn't know. Well, this would be as good of a time as any, she imagined. "What's wrong?" he asked, as she didn't speak.

"I didn't… I mean, I wasn't… I adopted her," she explained. He was surprised, as she thought he'd be. "I couldn't…" she started, but then stopped… He didn't need to know her whole story, even if part of her had been about to open up to him.

"Well, you'll have her back in no time; I'll do my best to make it happen… Who needs a weekend?" he shrugged… Her smile was visible just long enough, right before more coughs.

"What if you get sick, too?" she pointed out once it stopped.

"Germs won't even have time to get to me, you'll see," he promised. She smirked to herself, just eating her soup. She'd never hear the end of it if he was right, which he was, naturally. It was alright though, because by the end of it she was glad to have called him, instead of the feeling of hesitation at first. Everything pointed to them, so how long could she dodge it?

THE END

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**A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
****always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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